Prayer and Fasting for Marriage

Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, and Bishop William Dendinger of Grand Island have us to pray and fast for marriage today.

In a joint statement they said, “We ask all Catholics and people of good will to continue to fast and pray that God’s plan for marriage and family life will be affirmed. Marriage was established by God before the state and before the Church, and the vitality of both depends on the fruitful union of husband and wife.”

This came after U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon’s decision which would have made same-sex marriages legal in Nebraska. The Eighth Circuit has chosen to stay Bataillon’s ruling so it does not go in effect today.

Still today is a time to defend our belief in a marriage as a sacrament defend “the authentic meaning of marriage.” The bishops have asked us to pray for marriage today  through such means as Eucharistic adoration, daily Mass, prayer with Scripture, the Rosary, and time in private prayer.

Here at St. Columbkille we will have Eucharistic Exposition starting after the 8:15 Mass and finishing with Benediction at 10:00.

In a January column, Bishop Conley wrote that “The world is very confused about the meaning of marriage, about the importance of families and, ultimately, the world is very confused about happiness, and joy, and peace. The world is a dangerous place for anyone who is seeking real love. Christ’s love – and his plan for each one of us – is the antidote to that danger.”

The 20th Benediction of the Fortnight For Freedom

During the fourteen days of the Fortnight For Freedom, we are ending a Holy Hour with Benediction 24 times. This morning was the 20th.

During the days of the Fortnight For Freedom, parishioners have been praying with the Eucharist exposed in the chapel. Fr Vogel figured out this is well over 100 hours of prayer with our Lord.

Thank you to everyone who is or had been joining us in prayer:

What did you do?

"Grandma, when you were little, did you own slaves?"
"No! why are you asking such a silly question?"
"In school they said that some people used to make other people be their slave."
"Yes that happened, but it was a long time ago. It stopped over 100 years before I was born."
"Why did they do that?"
"Because people didn't love one another enough."
"When you were little did you send Jews to die in the hollow cast?"
"It's the holocaust, and no, I wasn't born then either. But it was when some people in Germany didn't show enough love towards people because they were Jewish."
"When you were little, would people kill babies before they were born?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so. That was called abortion and it used to be legal. I was older than you are when it stopped."
"Why did people do that?"
"Because they didn't love enough. It was hard to imagine when I was little, but it's wonderful that today abortion is looked upon as negatively as slavery or the holocaust."
"Did you help stop abortion? What did you do?"

We look forward and long for a day when abortion is universally decried as wrong. Tomorrow night you have a chance to work towards that future.

Adoration for Life Service

St. Columbkille Parish

Wednesday, December 11th

6 to 7:30 p.m.

(following the 5:30 Mass)

The Fortnight Has Begun

Like last year, the U.S. bishops have called for a Fortnight for Freedom, a two-week period of prayer and action, to address many current challenges to religious liberty. These include the August 1, 2013 deadline for religious organizations to comply with the HHS mandate, Supreme Court rulings that could redefine marriage in June, and religious liberty concerns in areas such as immigration and humanitarian services.

At St. Columbkille we are holding 25 Holy Hours or Eucharistic Exposiiton in the church finishing with Benediction. We are also exposing the Eucharist in the chapel during the day as people come to the chapel and pray.

Praying during the Fortnight

Anyone who has been in our chapel knows that the tabernacle looks like this:

But during the Fortnight for Freedom, we would like it to look like this:

To do that, to expose the Eucharist in the Monstrance, we need to make certain there is someone in the chapel every hour between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. starting June 21st. If you can commit an hour to help, please sign up here. If someone is signed up during the hour that woul work for them, know that you can come and pray too.

Fr. Vitalis' Lenten Reflection

Fr. Vitalis visited our parish today to give the reflection of "Mother Knows Best" as part of the weekly Eucharistic Exposition and Reflection series at 3:00 p.m. on Sundays.

Fr. Vitalis, one of our former Pastoral Associates, also expressed his joy at the changes that have taken place in the sanctuary since he was last here.